KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western AlaskaTue, 31 Mar 2015 21:44:05 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Placer Mining Big Business in Alaska, Report Findshttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/13/placer-mining-big-business-in-alaska-report-finds/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/13/placer-mining-big-business-in-alaska-report-finds/#commentsTue, 13 Jan 2015 23:21:24 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13945The report finds the majority of placer mines are mining for gold, off of the road system, and with small crews of about four people.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2015/01/2015-01-13-placer-mining.mp3

Most placer mining operations in Alaska are small, but combined they bring in more than $100 million a year. That’s according to a new study from the Alaska Miners Association looking at the economic impact of placer mine operations across the state.

In 2013 alone, the report finds placer mining—or the mining of streambeds and other deposits carried by water or erosion for minerals—was active in nearly 300 operations around the state, about 30 percent of which are in Nome. Alicia Amberg, the deputy director of the Alaska Miners Association, said it can be difficult to describe a “typical” placer operation, but many have elements in common.

“Most of our placer mining operations in the state mine for gold,” Amberg said, referring to the new report. She added most are “in remote locations” not accessible by road, with miners relying instead on plane or ATV. “Our average amount of employees on the placer operations in the state are around four,” with many family-run operations, she added.

For years placer mining has been a steady trade for small-scale operations, but exact numbers as to how many people engage in placer mining, and just how much money placer operations generate, has been hard to know. The new study commissioned by the AMA from research firm the McDowell Group combines a statewide survey of miners with data from the Department of Natural Resources to shed light on just how big of an economic engine placer operations truly are.

“The big takeaway from this report is that there is a significant economic impact of placer mining in the state of Alaska,” Amberg said. “That’s jobs, revenue, money that is spent in our state, and that … placer mining truly is the seventh ‘large mine’ in the state of Alaska.”

The report finds placer operations directly employ up to 1,200 workers every year. Most are seasonal jobs, and more than 70 percent of workers are Alaska residents. And the report says the operations pay well, too, with more than $65 million in goods and services spent keeping the operations going, of which nearly 90 percent is spent in-state.

Barb Nichols with the Nome Chamber of Commerce said that is consistent with what they see on the ground in Nome during the busy summer mining season.

“The economic impact of mining to our Nome economy is certainly positive,” Nickels said, reading from a prepared statement. “Jobs have been created for many local residents. Multiple local businesses that provide goods and services have reported increased sales and income during these months. Even the businesses that offer the daily needs such as our grocery stores and restaurants have reported increased sales.”

That’s partially borne out by the City of Nome’s own figures, which shows a peak in collected sales tax during the summer, with the numbers generally peaking higher every summer for the last five years.

Sale tax revenue from the City of Nome. Image: City of Nome.

Deantha Crockett, the Executive Director at AMA, said even as placer mines disappear elsewhere in the country, the report shows they are still a viable mining option in Alaska.

“There are far fewer placer miners today in the United States than there were three or four decades ago, and frankly, 99 percent of them are in Alaska,” she said. “We’ve got this vibrant industry that, there’s a perception out there should be a historic practice … that’s not the case here in Alaska. It’s a healthy industry and it has really important economic impacts.”

The State of Alaska also makes money from active placer mines through royalties, taxes, claim rentals, and other fees, but the AMA cites “confidentiality issues and other data restrictions” as keeping an exact dollar estimate for that state revenue out of the report.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2015/01/13/placer-mining-big-business-in-alaska-report-finds/feed/0Gold Co.’s Underground Blasting by Nome Airport Extended to 7 Days a Weekhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/24/underground-blasting-by-nome-airport-extended-to-7-days-a-week/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/24/underground-blasting-by-nome-airport-extended-to-7-days-a-week/#commentsMon, 24 Nov 2014 21:55:58 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13163A program for subsurface blasting on land just west of Nome's airport was first scheduled to close the airport for an hour a day during weekdays. Now the program will run seven days a week.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/11/2014-11-24-Airport-Blasting.mp3

First five and now seven days a week: that’s the new plan from the Department of Transportation for the one-hour closure of Nome’s airport to accommodate Nome Gold’s underground blasting.

The closures are set to happen daily from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. through June. Nome Gold general manager Randy Powelson said when the closures were first announced that the blasting at the “Airport West” site along the east/west runway could be some time away. He said Monday that work could begin as early as this week.

In September Nome Gold shipped up 800,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate for the wintertime mining operation. Powelson said the explosives will be placed at the bottom of 40-foot holes and used to break up the permafrost. Loose earth and rock will then be hauled to the company’s stockpile, to be fed through their wash plant in the spring when temperatures are above freezing.

Powelson says the subsurface blasting itself only takes seconds, and DOT spokesperson Meadow Bailey said crews will check the runway after each blast and ensure it’s safe for planes to land.

Bailey added in the update expanding the blasting to seven days a week that any closure during the one-hour window can be lifted for medevacs and similar emergencies.

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http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/24/underground-blasting-by-nome-airport-extended-to-7-days-a-week/feed/0Teller, Mary’s Igloo Residents Meet with Graphite Mining Co. on Imuruk Basin Deposithttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/20/teller-marys-igloo-residents-meet-with-graphite-mining-co-on-imuruk-basin-deposit/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/20/teller-marys-igloo-residents-meet-with-graphite-mining-co-on-imuruk-basin-deposit/#commentsThu, 20 Nov 2014 20:26:02 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=13053After meeting in Nome in October, Vancouver-based Graphite One went to Teller this week to meet with the most immediate stakeholders near the potential mining prospect.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/11/2014-11-20-Graphite-One-Teller.mp3

A mining company hoping to turn a large graphite deposit on the Seward Peninsula into the country’s only large-scale graphite mine met with residents in Teller this week to discuss its findings and hear from the locals who would live closest to any potential mine.

Vancouver-based Graphite One Resources has spent three summers at their Graphite Creek deposit near Imuruk Basin, on the north flank of the Kigluaik Mountains, about 40 miles north of Nome. The company drilled 22 holes at the site this summer until weather “chased them out” in late October. Those holes yielded core samples—long tubes of rock that offer a view of the geology deep inside the deposit—and show anywhere from 4.5 to more than 12 percent graphite, potentially making the deposit the second-largest graphite resource in the world.

A map of Graphite One’s deposit on the Seward Peninsula. Image: Graphite One Resources.

But going from a deposit to a mine is a prospect Graphite One chairman Doug Smith said is still anywhere from three to five years of studies and permitting away. He said this summer’s third round of sampling goes toward building a case for potential investors as to the mineral quality of the deposit, as well as how it could be used commercially.

“Basically there will be several types of graphite,” he said waiting for a flight out of Nome on Thursday morning. “There will be large flake, there could be amorphous lump, [and] each one of those types will make a different product. One particular product is a coated spherical graphite … and that would go into the lithium ion battery market. And so, what we have to determine is exactly what we have, and what the potential end products are.”

In October, Graphite One was in Nome to discuss the project with locals; some residents from Teller, Brevig Mission, and Mary’s Igloo were able to attend, but many were not, which led to this week’s meeting in Teller with the most immediate stakeholders near the potential mine.

Much as it was during the meeting in Nome, details on the project were far from final, definitive answers were few, questions about the mine’s impact were many, and the promise of jobs and economic development were nebulous. At the meeting Wednesday with residents from Teller and Mary’s Igloo, the prospect of jobs was again mentioned, but checked by the potential impacts on lifestyle and subsistence. Mary’s Igloo Tribal Coordinator Cora Ablowaluk attended Wednesday’s meeting with Graphite One in Teller.

In Teller, “we’re not sure about this whole mine yet,” she said.

“They come in and say they’re going to create jobs and create infrastructure for us, but we’re kind of neutral to it right now, because we don’t know the outcome of everything. We’re more worried about our subsistence than we are of anything else.”

Ablowaluk said those concerns come from what a mine could leave behind in the environment; concerns about chemicals, tailings, and overburden. While graphite can be separated from ore using acid leaching, Graphite One General Manager David Hembree said the company is considering a less chemical and a more mechanical approach.

“Graphite processing is much simpler, I’d say, than gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc ores,” he said. “You use a floatation process. Graphite does not like water. It’s hydrophobic. So it likes to float on top of water, so you can separate, skim the graphite off of the water.” He explained equipment known as frothers could be used to further increase the purity of any yield.

That kind of graphite processing, he added, means “there’s no cyanide, mercury, or any of the chemicals they do use in gold and silver and other metal mines.”

Ablowaluk said the possibility of a graphite mine is just one of several recent developments she said people in Teller and Mary’s Igloo view as a potential disruption to their way of life. Nome’s gold mining has threatened to spill over into Grantley Harbor just east of Brevig Mission and Teller, and the naturally deep water of Port Clarence to the west has been consistently mentioned as a leading candidate for a deep water Arctic port.

“Right now, we’re mainly more worried about the deep water port and how that’s going to effect our fish, because it’s not only going to effect Teller, Brevig, and Mary’s Igloo people, it’s going to effect the Pilgrim River and everybody who fishes in the Pilgrim River also,” Ablowaluk said.

“We don’t want the large ships in our subsistence area. We’re finally getting a lot of seals back after the Port Clarence station shut down, and they’re going to disappear again.”

As the residents of Mary’s Igloo, Teller, and Brevig Mission weigh the potential consequences of a graphite mine in their back yard, Graphite One representatives said they will use their data from the summer to build a “preliminary economic assessment” of the deposit, which should be done by May. The company plans to use that assessment to raise funding with new investors, and plan for a return trip for more drilling in the coming summer.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/11/20/teller-marys-igloo-residents-meet-with-graphite-mining-co-on-imuruk-basin-deposit/feed/0Graphite One Resources Meets with Nome Community to Discuss Potential Mine Developmenthttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/17/graphite-one-resources-meets-with-nome-community-to-discuss-potential-mine-development/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/17/graphite-one-resources-meets-with-nome-community-to-discuss-potential-mine-development/#commentsFri, 17 Oct 2014 23:16:46 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12399Wednesday night’s public meeting in Nome was the first step in what’s sure to be an extensive process of exploration and permitting for Graphite One Resources—the Vancouver-based company that’s been exploring the second-largest known graphite deposit in the world, here on the Seward Peninsula.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/10/2014-10-16-graphite-mtg.mp3

Wednesday night’s public meeting in Nome was the first step in what’s sure to be an extensive process of exploration and permitting for Graphite One Resources—the Vancouver-based company that’s been exploring the Graphite Creek deposit near the Imuruk Basin, on the northern edge of the Kigluiak Mountains.

Old St. Joe’s was packed with attendees from Nome, and a few from Teller and Brevig Mission. Locals are taking seriously the proposal of a large mining venture on the Seward Peninsula, augmented by memory of the failed Rock Creek Mine and its complications within the community. But the Graphite Creek Project Team believes this development can be done responsibly—and they’re seeking input early on this potentially significant project. Graphite Creek is the second-largest known graphite deposit in the world, and the U.S. currently has no domestic production of the mineral.

Doug Smith is the executive chairman and director of Graphite One Resources. The questions and comments that people brought to the meeting were broad, and what he called “typical” for a mining project—questions about environmental impact, tribal sovereignty, cultural and subsistence resources, and job opportunities.

Nome resident Sue Steinacher passionately voiced her apprehensions. “My biggest concern is that the people most affected—[whom] I see are the residents of Teller and Brevig [Mission]—that ultimately they will gain more than they will lose.”

Steinacher urged the project team to consider a socioeconomic study of the how the mine development could impact local communities—whether that’s through providing jobs, or increasing crime. Others asked how Graphite One planned to consult with the tribes, to which Joy Huntington, a consultant assisting Graphite One with community engagement, replied that though Graphite One is a private company, they would follow the model of the Tribal Consultation federal mandate.

However, since the exploration is just in the early stages, the team didn’t have answers to all of the questions and comments.

“It’s kind of a catch-22 because you want to engage people early so that your input is a part of those decisions being made, but if you engage folks early, you don’t always have all of the information readily available yet on what exactly the impacts are going to be,” said Huntington.

She urged those at the meeting to bear with the project team, and to keep contributing their concerns so that when information is being gathered and decisions are being made, the team will know what’s most important to the communities.

For some meeting attendees, the lack of answers was frustrating—combined with the reality that once explorations and studies wrap up, decisions could be made that not everyone is pleased with. But as attendee Greg Mitchell pointed out, “the key word is ‘transparency’” and the Graphite One team assured everyone that they want to work “directly and consistently” with impacted communities.

“I think it’s refreshing to have those passionate conversations and to know that people care very much about their home, their culture, their subsistence way of life, economic development and prospects for the region,” said Huntington. “So, I feel like even though we may not have all the information at hand today, listening is a very important part of this process, as well as providing information. Today I feel like we gained a lot as a project team just from hearing people’s concerns.”

Before the meeting at Old St. Joe’s, Huntington said Graphite One met with Nome Mayor Denise Michels, various departments at Kawerak, Bering Straits Native Corporation and the Nome Chamber of Commerce. They visited Brevig Mission Thursday, and plan to meet with people in Teller and Mary’s Igloo next month.

After completing work on the ground with the exploration program, Graphite One will conduct preliminary environmental assessments as part of the permitting process.

Attendees shared feedback on how the potential mine could best benefit the communities, and how it would also pose challenges to the people and environment. Photo: Jenn Ruckel, KNOM.

This week’s city election was confirmed by the Nome City Council Thursday, leaving city officials to find other ways to make ends meet after a proposed sales tax increase for alcohol and tobacco was defeated at the polls.

With fewer dollars coming from Juneau, the council had hoped the boosted sales tax on tobacco and alcohol—from 5 to 8 percent—would help pay for some city services like police and ambulance.

“Our whole intent was to try to use the tax for the police for, because 75 percent I believe is the number of our calls are alcohol related,” council member Randy Pomeranz said. But the city could only suggest the tax, and not guarantee how the revenue it generated would be spent. That, Pomeranz said, may be why it failed.

“We were making to create a little revenue for offsetting some of the costs to the police department, but we’ll move forward with what we’ve got.”

Beyond resolving to “move forward,” confirming Tuesday’s election held few surprises for the council; incumbents for the utility board, the city council, and school board ran unopposed and handily won re-election. The only race that held any surprises was for School Board Seat B, which saw newcomer Brandy Arrington winning the seat over write-in candidate Charles Pullock.

Before the council wrapped up its brief work session yesterday, however, they met with a visitor: Joe Balash, commissioner of the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

The council was quick to ask pointed questions of Balash as to DNR’s presence in Nome—or lack thereof—during the city’s increasingly busy summer gold mining season. Council member Tom Sparks invited him to see the impacts for himself.

“We’ve been asking for some help, particularly west beach, I’d encourage you to go there particularly in the summer, in July. We’ve seen a significant uptick in the amount of people over there, some of the trash, some real practical human health and safety issues that are happening on West Beach.”

Many link Nome’s past few “gold rush” summers to DNR’s 2011 lease sale, which brought in $9.3 million for the state. Council member Stan Anderson asked Balash to share the wealth.

“Bottom line, you get over nine million dollars in lease sale money,” Anderson said pointedly. “Couldn’t you at least share some of that? To me it’s an unfunded mandate, we get out of the feds. You sell the land and then we don’t see you again.”

Balash replied that the sales were in fact leases, and added that the department’s toolbox is limited, but a careful look at who leases and uses state land could be a start.

“It’s just a matter of going back through and reviewing our stipulations and seeing what it is we have the ability to control in a reasonable matter,” Balash said.

“What sort of qualifications somebody might have in order to receive a permit. That might go some way to helping address some of the challenges here in terms of housing, and making sure people don’t just show up with nowhere to stay, nowhere to go, and camping out on the beach.”

Balash went on to tour of the city’s port facilities and meeting with city officials and regional landowners like Sitnasuak. No meetings with miners, however, were on his agenda.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/10/10/city-council-confirms-election-talks-mining-with-dnr/feed/0Ballot Measure 4 Debated at Hearing in Kotzebuehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/26/ballot-measure-4-debated-at-hearing-in-kotzebue/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/26/ballot-measure-4-debated-at-hearing-in-kotzebue/#commentsFri, 26 Sep 2014 19:00:39 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=12018The public hearing on Ballot Measure 4 in Kotzebue earlier this month yielded more questions than answers about how the “Bristol Bay Forever” initiative would be implemented, if it passes the vote in November.]]>

The public hearing on Ballot Measure 4 in Kotzebue earlier this month yielded more questions than answers about how the “Bristol Bay Forever” initiative would be implemented, if it passes the vote in November.

Ballot Measure 4 would require that after the permitting process for a large mine in the Bristol Bay region, such as Pebble Mine, the final step to authorize the mine would need to be a vote from the legislature.

According to Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell, chief elections official, turnout was poor in Kotzebue, but he anticipates it’ll be much higher in fisheries communities closer to the bay, like Kodiak and Dillingham.

The “pro” side of the “Bristol Bay Forever” initiative argued that this legislative vote is an extra step to protect the Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve from large mine development. The Alaska Miners Association, arguing on the “con” side, said Ballot Measure 4 politicizes the scientific permitting process and adds an unnecessary extra step.

Representatives from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Natural Resources also participated in the hearing to explain how the current permitting process works. For those on both sides of the debate, Lt. Gov. Treadwell said the hearing aired some major questions.

“What happens if, like Red Dog, you need to expand your mine—do you have to go get a vote of the legislature a second time? What if you need some permits to actually do exploration before you can finish your plan to do mining, do you have to get a vote on that?” Treadwell recapped some of the questions that were explored during the hearing.

Most of those questions are still unanswered, and Treadwell says they’ll continue to be discussed in future hearings.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/09/26/ballot-measure-4-debated-at-hearing-in-kotzebue/feed/0Costs of Nome’s Gold Boom Weighed by City, Chamber, Librarianhttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/05/costs-of-nomes-gold-boom-weighed-by-city-chamber-librarian/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/05/costs-of-nomes-gold-boom-weighed-by-city-chamber-librarian/#commentsTue, 05 Aug 2014 22:45:27 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=11036Criticism from miners has focused on a recent letter from city manager Josie Bahnke claiming “negative social impacts” from Nome’s offshore gold boom, but others, including the Nome Chamber of Commerce president, say they're waiting for more information about the gold sector’s costs and benefits to town.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/08/2014-08-05-Costs-of-Gold.mp3

With the gold dredging season in full swing, a letter from City Manager Josie Bahnke angered many in the mining community ahead of a common council meeting last week.

In a letter to Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash, Bahnke asked for help coping with the unanticipated costs from a 2011 state lease sale which opened up the waters around Nome to independent offshore gold mining.

“From 2010 to 2013 we’ve seen an increase of 150 vessels related to the offshore mining,” Bahnke said in Council Chambers earlier this week. “A lot of that has required extra staffing to run down to get permits, get insurance information.” Bahnke paused for a few seconds, adding, “DNR hasn’t provided anything to help the port cope with that increase.”

But criticism from miners has focused not on capacity, but on a claim in the letter that the “negative social impacts” of Nome’s offshore boom outweigh the “economic benefits.” Bob Haffner has mined gold in Nome since 1991, and is president of the local Chamber of Commerce. He’s waiting for an upcoming state study examining the gold sector’s costs and benefits.

“The economic impact is still up for debate, but we’re getting a good hard handle on it with the state doing this economic impact [study],” Haffner explained, sitting on a couch in the Chamber of Commerce building on Front Street. “Social-wise I just don’t think you can pin it on any one group—and that’s what’s really frustrating.”

That study from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development is expected soon. And it’s likely to draw on data that the City of Nome collects showing when the five percent sales tax brings in money for municipal budgets.

Haffner believes that the huge increase in fuel and food sales the last few summers up until freeze up around October show how much money the mining sector pulls into Nome.

“So when you tell these miners, these dredgers that they’re not paying their fair share of taxes: that’s bogus, because they’re buying all the same goods and paying the same rate everyone else is here. But guess what: they rent,” Haffner passionately explained. “Guess who pays the property tax on that: not the person that owns the property—he ups his rent. So when you tell a renter they don’t pay property tax, that’s a fallacy; they do, they just pay it through someone else.”

Bahnke’s caveat is that while money may go to local businesses, the full costs from an influx of “transient” workers needs to be understood systemically, “Impacting other services city-wide, not just at the port, but also the police department. We’re seeing a lot of impact to our library and rec center with the increased users…And that’s a good thing,” Bahnke added, making sure to clarify that the city is in the business of providing services.

But managing the increases takes a toll. For example, one may not think that offshore gold dredging has much to do with public libraries. However, Marguerite LaRiviere, librarian at Nome’s Kegoayah Kozga Library explained during a brief lull between waves of patrons that not seeing the connection is a mistake.

“During the summer people seem to have a real interest in the Department of Natural Resources site, and if you don’t have access to the Internet at your home there are certain essential government services that you have to access through a library or other businesses that have wifi or computers.”

Which, in Nome, are hard to come by.

The point Bahnke says she’s desperate to get across to the state is that Nome’s sales tax and the artificially low harbor fees are not enough to pay for the cottage industry DNR’s lease sale made possible.

“We are a mining town, but we’re also a community that wants to be part of the mineral development process,” she finished.

Both Haffner and Bahnke want more of a dialogue between the city, miners, and other groups, like subsistence users. Part of the reason attendees at last week’s meeting were upset was that–unlike other relevant parties–no mining advocates were CC’d on Bahnke’s letter—which Haffner had Xeroxed and distributed to miners. Bahnke responded that in the last week she has reached out to both DNR and the Nome branch of the Alaska Miners Association, but has not received a response back from either.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/08/05/costs-of-nomes-gold-boom-weighed-by-city-chamber-librarian/feed/0Gold Miners Push Back Against City Over “Negative Social Impacts” During Council Meetinghttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/29/gold-miners-push-back-against-city-over-negative-social-impacts-during-council-meeting/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/29/gold-miners-push-back-against-city-over-negative-social-impacts-during-council-meeting/#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 23:39:15 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10842Last night’s City Council meeting heard a vocal but symbolic show of frustration from members of Nome’s mining community over a perceived slight by city officials.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/07/2014-07-29-City-Council-Irate-Miners.mp3

Last night’s City Council meeting heard a vocal but symbolic show of frustration from members of Nome’s mining community over a perceived slight by city officials. But chambers were nearly empty when council members took up action items and addressed some of the very concerns raised.

During public comments there were remarks on two new liquor license applications filed with the state, as well as concerns over Nome’s worsening musk ox problems. But for around an hour the only comments came from gold miners.

“We’re feeling like you’re throwing rocks at us the way some of this is written,” said Kenny Hughes with Nome’s chapter of the Alaska Mining Association.

He and others were angry about language in a letter City Manager Josie Bahnke sent July 15th to the Department of Natural Resources. In it, Banke wrote to DNR commissioner Joe Balash, “There has been some economic benefit from the offshore mining, but the negative social impacts that we are experiencing far outweigh the benefits.”

The letter refers to the 2011 DNR lease sale that opened up the current offshore dredging boom. The sale brought in millions in revenues for the state, but left Nome without the money to accommodate increased port activity, putting the city on the hook for new costs–everything from extra employees to setting up port-o-potties for human waste.

“We are a mining town,” Bahnke said, responding to criticisms of her letter. “But we haven’t heard anything from DNR since June, and that’s been frustrating. We’ve sat down, we’ve told them over and over and over what our concerns are, and there’s never any follow up that’s been done. I apologize for any negative connotations in there, but it’s more or less, I guess, in response to the frustration with no response from DNR.”

Commenters also felt left out for not being CC’ed on the letter to the state, or being included in more formal dialogues. Many had printed copies of the document with them, reading from it at the podium. Many took umbrage with the claim that their work brings only “some economic benefit” to the community.

“I’m an American. And when I come to Nome, I’m a citizen of Nome—I got just as many rights as anybody else around here. I’m not taking a backseat to anybody,” said Homer resident Vern Atkinson, who owns a dredging operation in Nome and is financially compensated by the Discovery channel for appearing in their Bering Sea Gold franchise. “When I come here I cover all the ground I stand on. And I don’t like being put down and, and—because I’m up here mining. And you people are sharing in the benefits of it.”

The extent of that economic boom is debatable. While the mining sector brings in money for some businesses, councilmember Stan Anderson says municipal entities—like the port, roads, city service providers—get very little of those revenues. Around 5%, Anderson said, referring to historical data and analyses the city has collected.

The matter became heated when commenters pushed for the city to define what was meant in the letter by “negative social impacts.” Mayor Denise Michels offered several examples, like a rise in methamphetamine and heroin use.

“Don’t laugh at this. This is [a] really serious issue,” said the mayor, her voice rising as skeptical scoffs rose from the crowd. “Those are some of the social issues that are happening in Nome.”

“Not because of gold,” someone shouted back from the public gallery.

“No not because of gold,” the mayor responded, “but these are new social issues that came up.”

Bob Haffner, a long time Nome resident and miner, was one of the few voices insisting neither side–the city or the mining community–is doing enough to accommodate the other’s needs.

“My kids are native—I want them to be able to subsist, I want them to be able to go down to Belmont Point and fish. By golly we don’t have to have all our dredges sitting right on shore. Y’all got boats. We need to make some room, too, guys. It’s not just them. We need to make some accommodations, too. And we’re not communicating.”

But almost everyone that came for public comment left once it ended, leaving chambers sparse–even as the council moved into voting on a seasonal tax that would have raised revenues from summer sectors. Like offshore mining.

The council ultimately voted not to bring that seasonal tax to voters.

They did settle a disputed contract, though. A bid by to maintain the city’s fleet of 32 emergency response vehicles from Trinity Sails—a business owned by KNOM’s chief engineer Rolland Trowbridge. That bid, as the lowest qualified offer, was accepted. Councilmember Matt Culley said the matter never should have been held up by zoning issues that were inappropriately considered during council discussions.

The council’s vote on the contract was split 5-to-1, with only councilmember Tom Sparks dissenting.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/29/gold-miners-push-back-against-city-over-negative-social-impacts-during-council-meeting/feed/1Elim Gathers River Data as Safeguard Against Uranium Mininghttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/28/elim-gathers-river-data-as-safeguard-against-uranium-mining/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/28/elim-gathers-river-data-as-safeguard-against-uranium-mining/#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 06:46:48 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10806Field technicians travel 40 miles from Elim up the Tubuktulik River to gather baseline data near the largest known uranium deposit in Alaska. ]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/07/0728%20Tubuktulik.mp3

FORTY miles from Elim up the Tubuktulik River, a small gauge sits at the water’s edge, just downstream from the state-owned Boulder Creek site—the largest known uranium deposit in Alaska, and a hot spot for potential mining.

At the base of the gauge, a level troll device pulls temperature and depth recordings every 15 minutes from the bed of the river. The device is there because residents of Elim don’t want to see mining develop near the Tubuktulik. During the 2008 Iditarod race, students and elders rallied at the Elim checkpoint to protest Triex Minerals Corporation, the Canadian mineral exploration company that was exploring the uranium deposit near Boulder Creek in 2006. Now, they’re hoping to get official protection.

Hal Shepherd is the director of the Center for Water Advocacy, and has been working with Elim’s Tribal Council on a data collection plan for the Tubuktulik River. He and Leigh Takak, a field technician for the watershed program, have been boating up the river almost every month for the past two years. Their destination—the testing site—is one of the only spots on the Seward Peninsula with a gauge device that’s constantly collecting data. Grants from the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs fund the fuel and testing equipment needed for the data collection project.

Last week, Shepherd and Takak conducted their routine testing at the site.

“First, we used an instrument called a level troll to test depth and temperature. And then we did the transect, so we measured the discharge along that long transect that was about 120 feet wide or so,” said Shepherd. “Then we measured water quality, because that is a concern about any type of mining activity—particularly uranium—that could contaminate the water source.”

Shepherd said these tests yield baseline data for the health of the river—data that will be turned over to the state of Alaska as part of Elim’s in-stream flow reservation application. If granted, Mayor Tyler Ivanoff said, the reservation would grant Elim jurisdiction over the water flowing into their land.

“If we attain them, we would be able to stop mining companies from using the water which would flow into our area,” said Ivanoff. “If we don’t get those water rights, then the state or the other mining companies can just use our water and probably pollute our rivers that we’ve been fishing on since time immemorial.”

Alaska is one of few states in the country to allow for individuals, in addition to state, federal and local governing agencies, to apply for reservations of state-owned water. However, Ivanoff said, the state doesn’t hand out these reservations frequently—and the application itself is a large undertaking. You need five years of data to be granted a reservation, though the application can be submitted after two years of data collection.

Shepherd said Elim anticipates submitting their application this fall. But until then, and for the next three years, he’ll continue making the 10-12 hour trip up the Tubuktulik. He said it’s a journey ripe with challenges—and, of course, the occasional pit stop for fishing on this healthy river.

“It’s so difficult to get up here. It’s so remote. The logistics are almost mind-boggling. You know, a lot of people are really excited about collecting good data. We get excited if we can just get to the gauge,” said Shepherd. “And we do it in the winter time, too. We do ice flow measurements. You have to come up by snow mobile. It can be pretty dicey trying to get up here in the winter.”

Though the trip isn’t easy and chances of actually securing a water reservation are uncertain, Elim Water Advocate Emily Murray believes this work is worthwhile. Murray is working with Shepherd on applying for the reservation. Last year she was a strong voice against HB77, a state bill that would have prohibited applications for in-stream water reservations like the one Elim is currently working towards.

“We need to be at the table, we need to be part of the permitting process, we really need to be. Because you know [the mining companies] could come and go but we’re still going be here. It’s that much more important for us to fight for our clean water in our backyard,” said Murray. “You know, you need to exercise your authority in that area.”

Even if Triex Minerals Corporation does not pursue a mining operation along the Tubuktulik River—with the price of uranium now down to $30 per pound, less than half its trading price in 2006—the community of Elim is continuing to take precautionary action.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/28/elim-gathers-river-data-as-safeguard-against-uranium-mining/feed/1Cross-regional Dialogue on Ambler Road as Parties Converge in Kotzebuehttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/26/cross-regional-dialogue-on-ambler-road-as-parties-converge-in-kotzebue/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/26/cross-regional-dialogue-on-ambler-road-as-parties-converge-in-kotzebue/#commentsFri, 27 Jun 2014 01:11:46 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10045Though the road is still in the preliminary planning phase, stakeholders from across the state flew in to Kotzebue Wednesday.]]>http://www.knom.org/wp-audio/2014/06/2014-06-26-Kotz-AIDEA-Meeting.mp3

In Kotzebue Thursday, a second day of community leadership meetings organized by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority—or AIDEA—continued discussions on a proposed road to the Ambler Mining District.

Though the road is still in the preliminary planning phase, stakeholders from across the state flew in Wednesday for presentations. In the Nullagvik Hotel, just across the street from Kotzebue Sound, dozens piled into a conference room, filling up seats and spilling at times into the hallway.

At tables facing a podium near the front of the room, leaders and representatives from communities near the road’s proposed path gathered to talk about the project.

“This doesn’t happen very often, where we get villages from different regions sitting in the same room, sitting side by side,” said Joy Huntington, a consultant for AIDEA. “So, just to promote that, we really want relationships to be established here, not just conversations. We want you to go away having formed some good relationships.”

Huntington was helping moderate community outreach, with an early emphasis on listening. Northwest Arctic Borough mayor Reggie Joule stressed that overall judgements about the mining road should be reserved until after there’s been more dialogue.

“Whether you’re for this process or not, be at the table. Be inside the tent. Make a difference. It’s important. Welcome, and thank you,” Joule said.

To date, AIDEA has held about 30 community meetings about the road, but the meetings in Kotzebue Wednesday and Thursday were the first time a large group from across the various communities any project would impact had been brought together in one place. That was partly a result of input the agency had gotten from communities who said they wanted to hear directly from others.

Gary Hanchet, the mayor of Bettles, said cross-regional dialogue is important because he doesn’t think the severity of his town’s opposition to the project has yet come through.

“We find it very disturbing that, while we want to be respectful here, it’s just like we don’t exist,” Hanchet said. He said the feeling is as if “everything is going to go through anyway. That’s going to be the end of our way of life.”

Hanchet added solemnly: “It’s been brought up before about progress. Not everyone views progress in the same way.”

In addition to civic and tribal leaders, there were also representatives from a number of other relevant groups.

“This is really your meeting that you’ve requested,” Huntington said to the assembled group. “We put you at the front, so you can be the strong voices heard. As you can see, we have the Borough Assembly here, NANA’s here, [Tanana Chief’s Conference], Doyon, the Department of Natural Resources, our village corporations as well, AIDEA is present as well, Dowl HKM—who you’ll see, they’ve put a lot of these presentations together for us.”

Organizers said Wednesday’s schedule of speakers was mostly a matter of who was available from various agencies. With four chartered flights and representatives from Anchorage, Fairbanks, and elsewhere all traveling to Kotzebue, the schedule was somewhat of a balancing act. Thursday’s session includes a 2.5 hour dialogue between community members from the Upper Kobuk and Koyukuk River communities, along with presentations by the Departments of Fish and Game and Health and Social services.

Though there are many strong feelings about the road, at the evening performance by Kotzebue’s Northern Lights drum and dance group, a spirit of mutual cooperation prevailed. Athebascan danced with Inupiat, and environmentalists with mining executives.